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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · degree · board · fork · mouse · lash · chest · trunk

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. chest — a box
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. hand — in cards
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. board — to get on
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. fork — in a road
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. board — a committee

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com